In May, we visited our friends, Lee and Rose Ann Wilkinson, in Maryville, TN. It was Katie’s first visit to Tennessee. There was a little rain but nothing that dampened our spirits. We were treated to a grand tour of the Great Smoky Mountains (see picture of Pete, Rose Ann, and Lee in front of the park’s headquarters), and a show by Louise Mandrell, in Pigeon Forge. We enjoyed a super day at (daughter) Kelly and Mike’s lake "cabin" (more like a deluxe house) including a guided tour of part of the lake in their boat and a delicious barbecue. Their other daughter, Jo and her husband Larry were there too, along with the four very growing grandkids (Pete had not visited for six years).

We made a three-day-weekend trip to the Monterey and San Jose area to surprise Roy Moline for a 50^th birthday party, his wife, Ardel planned. It was great seeing Roy and his family again.

On another three-day weekend (Pete has every other Friday off from work for good behavior) we headed to Hearst Castle. We had dinner in Cambria with Joe and Mary Alice Heumphreus, long time friends from Santa Barbara, which we ran into via Ham Radio on the way up the coast. The next day we toured the castle (another first for Pete). We finished up the day with a steak dinner with Pete Lawn at McClintocks in Pismo Beach (yes, the waiters still pour your water from at least three feet above the glass).

In April we met Liberty’s fiancé, Kevin McCormick. An August, 2003 wedding is in the planning stages and we will have another Kevin in the family. Liberty is working in the graphic arts field designing packaging for high-end cosmetic products. They enjoy snowboarding in Mammoth and wakeboarding behind their new ski boat.

In June, Jennifer graduated from Antioch University during a special ceremony at the Stowe House in Goleta. She is now working for a nationwide residential construction company, Ryland Homes, in Human Resources. She is enjoying her new job which includes lots of travel around the U.S. recruiting employees.

Also in June, Karen received her first car after completing her freshman year of college. This year she is a sophomore at UC Riverside.

In July, Pete, Katie, Katie’s parents, her sister, Chris, and niece, Lisa all ventured to England for Kevin’s graduation from the University of Bristol. The graduation was a very formal affair with lots of bowing, hat tipping, and other formalities. Kevin actually survived and was even singled out at the Computer Science Department’s social event as "that American that came for a year and then decided to graduate". We visited the Roman Baths at, where else, Bath, England. After visiting Anne Hathaway’s cottage, the afternoon was spent at Warwick castle, where Kevin and Pete played hide and seek amongst the rock passages. Driving a stick shift car on the "wrong" side of the road was an exciting experience for Pete (didn’t hit too many things and fortunately the clutch and brake were in their normal positions).

After England, Pete and Katie took a Scandinavian Capitols cruise from Dover, England through the Kiel Canal to Tallinn, Estonia, St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Oslo, Norway. At left, Katie is with Ellen and Syver Hellem, good friends and our hosts for a super tour of Oslo. At almost every port we managed to do some sort of tour via bus or boat to see the local area. Katie had been to most of the countries before except Russia. They were all new to Pete. After the cruise we spent two more nights in London, seeing the great play "Mama Mia" (based on ABBA songs) and also the not-so-great (according to Pete) play "Art".

In August, our "graduates" joined us in Maui. Pete’s daughter, Jennifer did her first SCUBA ocean dive off the Maui Marriott’s beach. We did the usual Luau, drove to the top of the volcano, snorkeled, ate, swam, ate, did I say ate? The second week, Jennifer had to return to work, and the rest of us headed to Kauai. It is a different place, reminding Pete of the big island when he first visited in 1960, very relaxed compared to the other islands. We took a helicopter ride around the island and saw some really beautiful sights. Kevin then headed back to California while we went to Oahu.

We treated ourselves to a "$special$" night at the "Pink Palace", the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki beach, talk about fancy… no mint on the bed at night, we received a loaf of very tasty bread (that we ate for breakfast)! Dinner was at one of our favorite steak places, Chuck’s of Hawaii. Our rented convertible was at the ready with the valet service, we could have stayed a week, but then we would be eating at McDonalds for the rest of our lives to afford it. We drove around the island and "did" the "world’s largest maze" at the Dole Plantation (see the picture of Katie foraging through the hedges).

Pete is still at Southern California Edison, his 15^th year is just about completed. Kevin started his first "real" job at Edison December 2^nd, filling in for a person in Pete’s department that is out on maternity leave. If things work out right, he may have a chance at a permanent job there. Katie still does substitute teaching.

Mr. Beau, the poodle, continues to keep us entertained. He just turned six and is enjoying his life of leisure when he isn’t demanding that we take him for a walk or retrieve his basketball from the pool.

We even managed to squeeze in a few Sea Doo trips this year, a couple to Laughlin and one to the Long Beach area.

Our best to you and your families during the holidays.